Background Overview of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752
Following the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (PS752) by Iran on January 8, 2020, Canada responded swiftly by acting on two main fronts: calling on Iran to conduct a proper investigation into the downing; and leading global efforts to improve the safety of civil air operations to make sure such tragedies do not happen again.
At the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and elsewhere, Canada has remained steadfast in its commitment to pursuing justice, accountability and transparency from Iran; to preventing such a tragedy from happening again; and to addressing the gaps in the international aircraft accident regime (Annex 13) exposed by Iran’s safety investigation and final accident report.
Government of Canada Response Strategy
The Government of Canada’s PS752 response strategy is to pursue, in collaboration with the Coordination Group countries, accountability and justice from Iran.
A summary of the Government of Canada response is presented in TAB B (Government of Canada Response to PS752). This dashboard outlines the key priorities of the strategy, highlights the interplay between initiatives under each priority, and demonstrates how the pursuit of different courses of action could affect our ability to meet competing objectives. Key pillars of the strategy are presented below.
Canada’s Safer Skies Initiative
Following the downing of Flight PS752, Canada acted swiftly to devise and lead efforts to change the status quo and to seek changes to global standards so as to prevent the reoccurrence of such a tragedy. On February 14, 2020, the Prime Minister announced Canada’s international Safer Skies Initiative, intended to make civil aviation safer by addressing gaps in the way the civil aviation sector deals with conflict zones.
Domestically, Safer Skies took the form of a new Canadian Conflict Zone Information Office (CZIO), which Transport Canada (TC) established to:
- monitor foreign conflict zones 24/7;
- enable efficient and timely sharing of information and intelligence domestically;
- develop and implement the Safer Skies Initiative, enabling broader international dialogue, awareness and advocacy regarding Conflict Zone overflight risk mitigation; and,
- support conflict zone-related work at ICAO.
The CZIO, which is based on international best practices, became operational in late June 2020.
Internationally, TC established the Safer Skies Consultative Committee (SSCC), which brings together subject matter experts from key States, international organizations, and industry partners to discuss conflict zone related matters. SSCC members are engaging in more open dialogue related to risk mitigation, and optimizing information-sharing between members, which is leading to practical safety improvements for civil aviation operations.
On December 8-9th, 2020, TC hosted the inaugural Safer Skies Forum, which brought together over 400 participants from 82 countries and 31 industry stakeholders to share expertise and engage in discussions respect to mitigating conflict zone risk.
Canada also drafted a Safer Skies Commitment Statement, which calls on States to renew their commitment to a global approach to mitigating risk from conflict zones. To date, it has been endorsed by nineteen (19) States and four (4) industry organizations.
PS752: TC’s Immediate Response
On January 7, 2020, after Iran launched missile attacks on US positions in Iraq, TC immediately consulted Air Canada, the only air carrier with operations in the region, as well as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). From this point on, all Air Canada flights in and out of Dubai were rerouted to avoid flying over Iraq.
Late at night on January 7, 2020, a TC officer on duty received an alert about the downing of Flight PS752. Immediately following the news, TC called upon the Five Eyes community to gather information and intelligence, including satellite data and images to determine the cause of PS752’s crash. Our analysis overnight concluded that the flight was subject to a catastrophic event.
TC also issued a statement noting that it was monitoring the situation in the Middle East and was in close contact with the US FAA. Early in the morning on January 8, 2020, TC received and started analyzing the flight data for PS752.
TC also reached out to Ukraine to offer technical assistance, which led to the deployment of a senior TC analyst to closely monitor investigation efforts and progress by Ukraine officials.
On January 9, 2020, the Prime Minister hosted a media availability alongside the Minister of National Defence to announce that Canada had intelligence indicating that PS752 was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile.
This statement led to Iran admitting on January 10, 2020, that it had fired missiles that caused the crash of PS752.
On January 10, 2020, TC issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) advising Canadian air operators not to enter the airspace of Iran and Iraq. Since then, TC has issued NOTAMs covering the airspaces of Syria, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine.
PS752 Investigation
Following the downing of PS752, TC intervened quickly through various channels, including direct engagement with Iran, ICAO leadership, and partners, such as the Netherlands, the U.S., and France, to ensure the investigation into the downing of Flight PS752 was properly conducted.
On January, 10, 2020, Canada announced the formation of the International Coordination and Response Group (Coordination Group) for families of victims of PS752, consisting of Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. The Coordination Group has since worked together to press Iran for a thorough and transparent investigation, and pursue reparations, including compensation, as well as answers to many vital questions concerning the downing of Flight PS752.
Also on January 10, 2020, two investigators and an appointed expert from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB) departed Canada to attend the crash site in Iran. The TSB issued a statement announcing that it would pursue increased involvement in the safety investigation of PS752.
On January, 14, 2020, a TC civil aviation accident investigation expert was deployed to the Canadian Embassy in Kiev to provide technical expertise and liaison service to Ukrainian civil aviation and Ukraine International Airlines officials.
Parallel to those efforts, Canada provided assistance to families of the victims, both in Tehran and in Canada. Arrangements were made for the repatriation of remains where possible, and financial assistance was provided to the families.
Utilizing channels at its disposal, Canada was persistent in repeatedly, and forcefully, calling on Iran to arrange the readout of the flight recorders, which it was obliged to do “without delay”, as per existing Annex 13 requirements.
Between January 29 and February 11, 2020, Minister Garneau regularly reached out to Minister Eslami, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, urging Iran to turn over the flight data recorders for decoding.
On January 31, 2020, Ministers Garneau and Champagne met with the ICAO President to encourage ICAO to intervene, and to press Iran to follow their international obligation by complying with ICAO standards.
Minister Garneau addressed the Council again on June 10 to reiterate Canada’s commitment to obtaining justice, transparency and accountability from Iran in the wake of the PS752 tragedy. The Minister also called on Iran to allow the flight recorders read-out to be completed in a facility with the capability to do so as soon as possible—as stipulated by Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation and as Iran had committed to doing.
Thanks in part to the pressure exerted by Canada, Iran finally transferred the flight recorders to France’s Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile (BEA) on July 20, 2020.
Canada was also successful in lobbying Iran to allow two investigators from the TSB, including a recorders specialist, to attend the download of PS752’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders – a concession Iran was not required to make. A preliminary analysis of the data confirmed the fact of illegal interference by Iran.
On November 6, 2020, the Minister of Transport once again addressed the Council to, among other things, reiterate Canada’s expectations in regards to Iran’s Annex 13 Investigation Report.
Iran released a number of reports leading up to its Final Accident Report:
- On January 9, 2020, Iran released its first preliminary report, followed by an updated version on January 21, 2020.
- In July 2020, a Factual Report with respect to its PS752 investigation was released; and,
- In August 2020, Iran issued a Flight Recorder Read-out Report.
Iran’s final investigation report into the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was released on March 17, 2021. Overall, the report presented an incomplete account of events and failed to outline relevant actions by military and civilian authorities that likely contributed to the shoot-down.
This report demonstrated that Iran failed to both undertake an investigation that was compliant with Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention, and to produce an Annex 13-compliant final report. More specifically, Iran failed to adhere to ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices related to the preservation of evidence and the readout of flight recorders, maintain the chain of custody and properly protect the crash site. In addition, Iran’s final investigation report failed to identify all causes and/or contributing factors, both immediate and systemic, and refused to examine the military’s involvement in the downing.
Canada’s Forensic Team’s PS752 Investigative Report is currently in the final editing stages and is expected to be released on XX, 2021. The Report concludes that, although not premeditated, the human errors that led to the downing of Flight PS752 could have been avoided and were linked to a number of deficiencies in planning, risk mitigation and decision-making.
Engagement at ICAO
TC has committed resources to capacity building and to working with key allies, such as ICAO, to learn the lessons from PS752.
Since the downing of Flight PS752, the Minister of Transport has made a record number of four interventions at ICAO.
On March 11, 2020, under the auspices of the Safer Skies Initiative, the Minister of Transport presented a Working Paper to the ICAO Council, which was co-sponsored by Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The paper suggested carrying out a comprehensive gap analysis to determine whether more could be done across the spectrum of ICAO instruments, Standards and Recommended Practices, and guidance material to mitigate the risks posed by conflict zones.
This gap analysis has since been completed, and the results were presented to Council on June 10, 2020 for approval, along with a proposed work plan to address identified gaps.
The ICAO Secretariat will present another progress report on its Safer Skies related activities at the June 2021 Council Session. Those activities are intended to prioritize and coordinate work in the following areas:
- The implementation of activities in support of recent amendments to Standards and Recommended Practices related to airspace management and conflict zones;
- The updating of Standards and Recommended Practices and guidance material related to airspace management and conflict zones where warranted by evidence-based, risk-informed decision-making.
On March 1, 2021, the Minister of Transport addressed the Council, stating that Canada will continue to be relentless in its search for answers regarding the downing of PS752, seeing as Iran owes these answers to the families, to Canada and all the countries affected by the tragedy as well as the international community.
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Canada is continuing to use all means at its disposal to press Iran for justice, transparency and accountability, including by exploring three options for intervention at ICAO Council: and (3) a Ministerial Statement at ICAO alleging Iran’s failures.
ICAO Annex 13 Reforms
The international system for aircraft accident investigations defined in Article 26 of ICAO’s Chicago Convention, with specific procedures articulated in Annex 13 of the Convention, enables the State of Occurrence to determine how the accident investigation is to be led.
Although the system is generally fit for purpose, it is not well-suited to situations like PS752 where the State of Occurrence (responsible for conducting the investigation) may also be responsible for the aircraft’s downing. In these situations, conflict of interest concerns can arise that may call into question the integrity and comprehensiveness of the resulting safety investigation.
During his March 1st intervention at ICAO Council, the Minister of Transport mentioned that, in certain circumstances, the current Annex 13 investigation regime could be strengthened to ensure that investigations in downings such as PS752 are always comprehensive, independent and impartial, and that Canada was looking forward with ICAO to advance such improvements.
Canada is committed to working with its partners to address shortcomings in ICAO’s system for aircraft accident investigations as made evident by Iran’s safety investigation into the downing of PS752, and its subsequent report. Canada is exploring options at ICAO, including the pursuit of amendments to existing Standards and Recommended Practices under Annex 13, to ensure that future investigations are conducted in a more credible, transparent and impartial manner, which could include:
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- reviewing the accident investigation regime to identify other changes that would enhance the credibility and transparency of similar safety investigation.
Canada intends to present a Working Paper on Annex 13 reforms at the ICAO High Level Conference on COVID-19 in October 2021, and will advise the Council at its June meeting. [ATIP redacted]
Family Engagement
The Minister of Transport has met on a number of occasions with members of the Families Association to reaffirm the government’s commitment to achieving the Association’s goals of justice, transparency and accountability, and keep them informed of the progress of the investigation into the downing of Flight PS752.